740 A. E. Verrill — The Bermuda Islands. 



The native Cedar appears to be very little affected by insects. A 

 pale green geometrid larva was observed spinning down from its 

 branches late in April, but not in large numbers. 



The insects of Bermuda are still too imperfectly known to warrant 

 a tabular statement of their origin. About 225 species are reported 

 in this article, but many are not yet determined specifically. The 

 Lepidoptera and Coleoptera each include about 50 species. Of 

 those that are accurately known, more than 90 per cent, belong also 

 to the fauna of the United States, either as natives or introduced ; a 

 few are European; perhaps a dozen are peculiarly West Indian; only 

 two are confined to Bermuda, so far as known. But a large number 

 of those that belong also to the fauna of the United States are nearly 

 cosmopolitan in warm countries, accornpaiwing man and mostly feed- 

 ing on his property. Such are many of the flies, cockroaches, scale- 

 insects, clothes-moths, grain-moths, grain-weevils, Hour-beetles, etc. 

 Many of these are doubtless of Asiatic or European origin, but have 

 been so widely disseminated by man in early times that it is now 

 useless to try to trace their origin. The relatively small number of 

 species hitherto obtained is very remarkable, and is good evidence of 

 the very meager insect fauna, though many species must still remain 

 to be discovered. 



c. — Diptera. (Elies, Mosquitoes, etc.) 



Several species of domestic flies are abundant in summer, but 

 they were probably all introduced by the early settlers. Among 

 those noticed were the Flesh-flies (Sarcophaga carnarla, fig. 85, and 

 S. rablda) ; House-fly (Musca domestica, fig. 86) ; Musca basi- 

 laris y Blue-bottle [Lucilia coesar, fig. 87) ; Lueilia latifrons y 

 Lucilia sericata Meig. (t. D. W. Coquillett); Blow-fly [Calliphora 

 vomitoria, fig. 88) ; Stable-fly [Stomoxys calcitrans tig. 89), 

 common. 



Recent investigations have demonstrated the importance of those 

 flies which either breed in, or feed upon, dead animals or human 

 excrement as carriers of the bacterial germs of contagious diseases, 

 like typhoid fever, cholera, etc., especially in localities where infected 

 material is left exposed to the air, as about army camps, and in 

 country localities generally. No doubt they can also convey the 

 disease germs of small pox, scarlatina, tuberculosis, bubonic plague, 

 etc., if they have access to the bodies or infected dejecta of persons 

 suffering from those diseases. Many of the contagious diseases 

 of domestic animals are also diffused by the same means. 



